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kb_208's review against another edition
5.0
This was quite a pilgrimage indeed. The idea of a book that told of all the evolutionary steps it took to get from the beginning to human is quite a feat, but Dawkins does it justice. The difficulty about a book like this is that our knowledge of the subject is constantly changing and updating and the further back you go the less and less information we have about it. Dawkins does a good job of explaining each "rendevous" points with our common ancestors and about when these events could have taken place. Each chapter also has different stories from different organisms and how certain traits evolved and could have evolved. A lot of it was over my head, but the whole book is dense with amazing information on evolution. This book isn't for a light read, but it's worth checking out.
docpacey's review against another edition
5.0
The sheer amount of information packed into this book would have to be daunting to a reader not initiated into the language of biology, but any fan of Darwin, Stephen Jay Gould or E.O. Wilson (to name a few) will revel in the way that Dawkins journeys from the tip of the branch (modern man) to the trunk of the tree at the beginning of all life on earth.
Each waypoint in the journey is a junction at which another branch of life rejoins ours on the way to the trunk at life's earliest moment, and is an opportunity for Dawkins to explore nearly every aspect of the way science has categorized, discovered, studied and theorized upon the vast diversity of beings that do and have inhabited our planet.
It's an amazing contrast to The Sixth Extinction that I finished just prior.
Each waypoint in the journey is a junction at which another branch of life rejoins ours on the way to the trunk at life's earliest moment, and is an opportunity for Dawkins to explore nearly every aspect of the way science has categorized, discovered, studied and theorized upon the vast diversity of beings that do and have inhabited our planet.
It's an amazing contrast to The Sixth Extinction that I finished just prior.
emiann2023's review against another edition
4.0
I always learn a lot, and I know he goes to great lengths to make these digestible to a more layman mind, but I do still find myself getting lost at times. Still, really enjoyed the thoughtful commentary and analysis of our genetic history.
brenana's review against another edition
did not actually read the whole thing (skipped around but read probably half of it), but putting it on the shelf until i have time to read the rest. the sections i did read for class are super interesting, though, and i can't wait to get back to it
rey_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0